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ROCK SLY You'll smell what he's cooking -- but not until ''The Scorpion King''

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The Mummy Returns

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More than a few critics have noted that in ''The Mummy Returns,'' the villain's not the only thing coming apart at the seams. The plot, too, unravels quicker than the undead baddie (Arnold Vosloo) can run out of his ancient Egyptian wrappings. Not that audiences, who gave the movie a $68.1 million opening weekend, seemed to care.

But to answer all your burning questions about sequels, kid actors, and strange doings along the Nile, EW.com got the dirt (or sand) from various castmembers and writer / director Stephen Sommers.

The Rock is featured prominently in all the ads, but he's only onscreen for a few minutes. What gives?
Don't worry, you'll get to smell plenty of what the Rock's got cooking, Egyptian style, just not in this movie. While the WWF strongman was filming his blink and you'll miss it cameo for ''The Mummy Returns,'' Warner Bros. was so impressed with the dailies they decided to give him his own ''Mummy'' spinoff, ''The Scorpion King.'' The prequel is in production now and should hit theaters next summer. ''We go back 10 years before my character became a king,'' says WWF star turned actor Dwayne ''The Rock'' Johnson. ''I'm an assassin who's assigned to kill my love interest, and then learn I don't have the heart of ice I thought I did.'' Though Johnson says the movie is his bid to become Hollywood's next ''action figure actor,'' he'll be stretching dramatically as well as kicking ancient ass. ''My family is killed right in front of me in the first few scenes,'' he says. ''My motivation is set right away.'' How do you say ''Death Wish'' in Egyptian?

The legend of the Scorpion King, who sells his soul to the god Anubis in order to conquer his enemies, is total garbage, right?
Not exactly. ''I do tons of research, but mainly to get ideas,'' says Sommers. ''There really was a Scorpion King. The first pharaoh of Egypt was a warrior named Menes, who united the upper and lower regions of the country, and that was his nickname. And I just let my mind go from there. I saw a statue of Anubis, and thought, Wouldn't it be cool if he came alive and had a hundred thousand warrior dog guys who look just like him?''

Villainess Meela (Patricia Velasquez) and Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) are both reincarnations of two feuding Egyptian royals. How come they don't confuse their past and present thoughts?
''They're the same people; they just realize who they were in the past,'' explains Sommers. ''After Meela is shown her previous life by the Mummy, she REALLY remembers her past. Before then, she knew she was reincarnated, but didn't feel it.'' Got that? Any other questions, ask Shirley MacLaine.

In a battle with the Scorpion King, the unkillable Mummy is suddenly stripped of his superpowers and becomes mortal. How does that work?
Sommers says you'll have to figure that out for yourself. ''He loses his immortal soul, so he can be killed,'' the director shrugs. ''I just made sure all of the rules in this movie match the first movie. Otherwise you lose all of those 8 to 12 year olds who study the movie so closely. If you're confused, great. You'll go back again, and I'll get the eight bucks.'' Uh, right.